I recently purchased a used 1995 Toro Power Shift 824 and this is the first snow thrower I have ever owned or operated. It did not come with a manual but I was able to download one from Toro's website. However the manual doesn't provide very detailed information and more specifically the info that I'm looking for. It took me quite some time while using it to figure out that when I have selected a reverse gear I do not have to constantly hold my right hand on the gear shift to keep the reverse gear engaged. I was able to figure out that I have to select the reverse gear and hold the shift control back only until I engage the drive control and then I was able to release my grip on the gear shift. Is this normal? When I pull my gear shift back into a reverse gear it springs back into the normal postion. Should it "stick" and engage the gear without me having to keep it in position until the drive control is engaged? If so, I'm surprised Toro would have the user engage the drive control and put the machine in backward motion while the operater momentarily has only one hand on the handlebars (for lack of a better word). Is this some sort of safety feature to prevent me from backing over myself? Does any of this make sense?

Additionally, I find that during operation the chute tends to vibrate out of position causing me to periodically reach over and rotate it back to the desired position. I looked in the manual for any instruction on adjusting the chute or other advice but there was nothing there except describing how to rotate the chute.

Once again I thank anyone who has read this far. I look forward to any advice that may be offered.

My reverse system operates just as you have described. The shift lever is held in reverse by the drive clutch control. I believe it was designed this easy to allow you to turn slightly while you back up. This would be very difficult to do if you had to keep two hands on the machine.

I don't recall the chute vibrating out of position but I am usually changing it so often that I may not notice.

Additionally, I find that during operation the chute tends to vibrate out of position causing me to periodically reach over and rotate it back to the desired position. I looked in the manual for any instruction on adjusting the chute or other advice but there was nothing there except describing how to rotate the chute.

Right - my '90 824 does that too. I'd love to find some friction device to limit free rotation a bit.

And I agree with the previous response - backing up 2-handed would be more awkward and releasing the hand that's on the machine does stop it.

Changing the plastic guides under the chute ring helps alot. You can loosen the nut under the plastic gear and push the gear in tighter to the chute ring gear. The only problem with this is that it makes it a little harder to turn.

Thanks everyone who responded. My main concern still exists though. Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough originally. My question centers on engaging the reverse gears and why the shift knob doesn't "stick" in the reverse gears until I engage the drive control. In other words if I select any forward gear while the machine is idling the shift knob stays in that gear even if the drive control is not engaged. It doesn't automatically spring back to the neutral position. Now when I try to place the shift knob in a reverse gear while the machine is idling it springs back into the neutral position. I have to hold the knob in the reverse gear while engaging the drive control at the same time. Only then does the gear shift knob stay in the reverse gear that I have selected. When I release the drive control the shift knob pops back into a neutral position. I guess my question is: Is this normal? It makes me feel as though the blower won't accept my selection of a reverse gear properly. Is this a precaution devised by Toro (and maybe other blowers if they have this feature) to prevent me from accidentally leaving the thing in reverse and backing over myself? I guess it's not a big deal but since I have never operated a snow blower and my purchase was used I wasn't sure if I got a defective one or not. Thanks.

My comment is for the chute rotation. I have a different machine but the chute movement was a problem for me. My chute control is a rod below the handle which is supported by a metal bracket. I inserted a small split grommet around the control rod in the hole in the bracket. This slightly increases the effort to turn the rod crank but keeps the chute in place.

Reverse Cable Adjustment: Adjust the reversecable so that there is 1.5 mm (1/16") side play inthe reverse bellcrank as shown in Figure 43. If thecable is too loose,loss of reverse will result.If thecable is too tight, loss of the forward gears willoccur.